Terry Brannigan is a 1979 graduate of Staples High School. He wrestled there, then returned to live in Westport. His 3 sons have had great success here on the athletic field, in the classroom and music program, and on the stage.
He has followed the recent controversy over the non-renewal of coaches, and related events, with dismay.
Many others have too. Now it’s time for solutions. Terry may have one. After researching school ombudsmen, he writes:
The events surrounding the non-renewal of athletic coaches have done so much damage, eroded so much trust, and pulled our community so far apart that we have to find some way to reset.
What stands out to me from this event is that there truly is no neutral zone. No authentic transparency, and perhaps most importantly, no place for parents, students, administrators or staff to turn without the risk of exposure.
An ombudsman plays a critical neutral role in fostering trust, fairness and transparency within a school community. As tensions arise between families, staff and administration, an independent, accessible resource like an ombudsman becomes essential to preserving a healthy environment.
An ombudsman promotes transparency and fairness. By helping people understand how decisions are made and what processes are in place to voice concerns, an ombudsman improves communication across all levels of the school system. This reduces frustration, prevents misinformation and encourages collaboration.
Trust is another essential outcome of the role. By providing a safe and confidential space where students, parents and staff can raise issues without fear of retaliation, the ombudsman reinforces the school district’s commitment to listening, accountability and integrity.
An ombudsman supports proactive conflict resolution. By addressing issues early and informally, they help prevent small misunderstandings from escalating into larger disputes or legal action.
Unlike many roles in a school system, an ombudsman can assist even when concerns involve district leadership, including the superintendent. Their role is not to advocate for one side, but to help clarify issues, explore options, and promote fair treatment for all parties involved.
When a concern is raised an ombudsman listens carefully, provides clarity around policies or next steps, and helps individuals assess their options. They may facilitate conversations between parents and teachers, between staff members, or even between families and district leaders to reach informal resolutions.
All discussions are handled confidentially (within legal limits), which creates a safe environment where individuals can speak freely, especially in emotionally charged or high-stakes situations.
Because an ombudsman operates independently, they can support resolution efforts even when the issue involves high-ranking officials. This ensures that every concern is treated with the same level of seriousness and fairness.
In addition to addressing individual cases, an ombudsman has a broader impact. They monitor for recurring issues and trends, providing leaders with feedback that can help improve policy, communication, and district culture.
In today’s educational landscape, where schools are expected to be responsive, inclusive and transparent, an ombudsman provides a critical link between the community and the district. They embody a commitment to fairness, integrity and student success — values that benefit everyone in the school system.
(“06880” Opinion pages are open to all. Email 06880blog@gmail.com).
This is an outstanding idea, Terry.
Particularly in light of the fact that oftentimes School Boards and Administrators are required to keep confidential anything related to any individual student, requiring them to sometimes appear to lack transparency even when their “hands are tied” on what information they are allowed by law to share.
This comment is not intended to excuse School Boards, individual School Board members, or school administrative personnel from being held to account for obfuscating an issue or for handling any issues inappropriately, rather to simply acknowledge that sometimes “the optics” of any given situation can appear to be worse than they actually are based on the inability to provide all the evidence because of statutory requirements.
Great idea.
This is an interesting proposal. I spent 5 years as an ombudsman in a corporate setting — and got very tired of explaining what an ombudsman does. Anyway, an ombudsman certainly could provide the functions and services mentioned. The biggest issue is independence. To operate fully independently, the ombudsman should report outside the direct management authorities. This ensures that the role will not be subject to management pressure. For example, it might make sense to have a statewide ombudsman reporting to the governor’s office but it’s problematic to have one reporting to the district if the district has a stake in the conflict.
Larry, I had a similar concern. Perhaps there could be a department within the state Board of Education that managed this. It would need to be as impartial and non-political as possible.
The Westport Board of Education should recommend the district undergo an outside review of policies and procedures regarding the hiring, on going training and supervision of coaches. This fiasco should never have happened, and the local board must do everything possible to ensure it won’t happen again.
This sounds like a great solution, but who would pay the ombudsman?
A bake sale of course.
This is an idea which needs to be pushed forward and implemented immediately. There have been so many issues in town, and not just with the schools, an Ombudsman position should be considered for all Westport town government. This position should NOT be anyone connected politically to the town, not be appointed by the First Selectperson nor other political person, but their decisions should be binding on all. Perhaps 2 attorney firms that do not do any business in town should interview and recommend the Ombudsman. The recent coaches hearing was an abomination regarding transparency, procedure and process, regardless of where you come down on the decision. Having sat through the entire day’s testimony I was absolutely appalled. We should be better than this. There was nothing unbiased about the “moderator” who’s procedural decisions were inconsistent and one-sided. I believe he actually works for the same firm that our town attorney works for. At a minimum that is an appearance of a conflict of interest if not a true conflict and should never have happened. The heavy-handed approach by the school representatives was embarrassing. Superintendent Scarice’s testimony, especially his calculated insistence on calling a team meeting room a “shed” for affect, and attitude reminded me of the former school Czar (read king) Landon. I thought those days were long past. I have to say that I do not know Coach Chris but I do know Coach Russell, having managed one of his club teams before he started with Staples and my heart literally is broken for what our Town has allowed to happen to him. He is the one of the kindest, most altruistic human beings I have ever met. He takes a personal interest in all his players and is a great role model for them. The Westport community is much poorer for what we’ve done to him. An Ombudsman position might mitigate the chances of this type of situation happening again. It would also go a long way to either forestall a lawsuit against the town for wrong doing or, at a minimum, possibly help the town win or reduce potential damages. In that way the position would more than pay for itself.
Why hasn’t the name of the Mediator and the name of his/her firm been released? or has it?
Frederick Dorsey.
Great idea Terry!
Brilliant idea and given what has transpired, we desperately need this.
Spoken like a true sister! Kathleen Brannigan-Fazio!
😜
Nice concept. Not the answer. Shouldn’t be necessary if decisions are made AND explained in a fully transparent manner. Unfortunately, some of the laws and privacy concerns (created by your elected officials and bureaucrats) are then used by the same officials and bureaucrats to hide behind. Adding yet another bureaucrat and bureaucratic process in the form of an ombudsman is not the answer. How gov’t gets needlessly large and unwieldly! A shame how this particular situation was managed. Feel for the coaches involved as it’ll be hard for them to shake the reputational damage done to them.
Dare I say, parents have made very public complaints, in a variety of forums, knowing that the administration can’t attempt to publicly share details publicly because of privacy matters.
I don’t think you can “blame” local officials or “bureaucrats” for not releasing information about children.
Mark, we disagree. I’m not saying my suggestion is the only answer but something needs to change. Who are the people you feel should make, and fully explain in a transparent manner, their decisions?
In my opinion, the strangest thing about this past Monday night is that there did not appear to be any neutrality. The administration, their lawyer, the appointed mediator, and the BoE are all on the same side of the equation.
I don’t think any of these are bad people, but the defendant’s only recourse was to challenge the decision made by the same individuals who selected the mediator and determined what could and could not be considered as evidence. And at the conclusion of this one-sided event, the very people he reports to rendered the decision.
This has run so far off the rails that people are calling for heads to roll—when, with the right neutrality, it could have represented a step forward for everyone.
Honestly, it feels like the scene from National Lampoon’s Vacation when Clark asks the mechanic how the local sheriff feels about his business practices—and the mechanic pulls out his sheriff’s badge!
The town is a bully, and the Sherif’s line “how much you got?” certainly is appropriate for how an average citizen is treated by all parts of town government. This is the Town’s business model and the default setting is “sue us” if you disagree with us. They openly dare citizens to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit. Results:
1. Deep pockets coupled with deep anger will lead to expensive lawsuits for the town, which may or not be settled.
2. Deep and regular pockets, coupled with a cooling off period, will lead the residents to give up. Good for the elected/appointed officials and town lawyers, bad for citizens and our civil society.
Irs Bloom and the BOE lawyers run this town, and enable and encourage disgraceful behavior from the elected “elite.” They are bullies.
Having served 6 years on the RTM and seen these people in action for a while now, I thought I had seen it all. But this BOE/Coaches situation is as bad as I have seen. Quite disgraceful of course. But we get the government we demand.
This town needs to fire Ira Bloom and his firm, the BOE needs to fire Shipman and Goodwin, and we need term limits for every elected office in town. And an Ombudsman as Terry outlines here would be a fantastic start to cleaning up this mess.
The former town attorney lives at the end of Owenoke Park. Your tax dollars at work.
A major factor I have unveiled is that everything is organization sport now. A whistle is at every “scratched knee” on every field. Our generation paid “pick up” games. No coaches, no parents, no whistles. You got in a fight, you settled it. Not your Mama. Get the parents out of there and let the kids have fun playing letwww. carkaddisonswanson.com
How about Jack Backiel for Westport’s Ombudsman, he knows Westport, (memory lane Jack), Lord knows he has the time, (I knew you’re uncle who knew my cousin)…
Perfect choice.
Hire a city manager as ombudsmen (women) . . . . Sweden has a specific ombudsman for kids and Norway takes special care of their young athletes . . . . get the parents out of there.
Every once in a while, coordinated response between you and the Skipper would be nice.
THANK YOU JO ANN.
You are welcome. Perhaps if folks’ listened, some productive change might occur? The “Skipper” is in Bermuda, working
Sometimes it a former Westporter and Staples grad to see what others have missed. I know an individual who is ready, willing, able and supremely qualified. He has political experience, is an artist, an ivy leaguer, former naval officer and understands the workings of government at all levels. His father is also unemployed (through no fault of his own) and loves the beach. He is a family man and his stepmom holds an advanced degree in educational administration. I’ll check with him to confirm his availability. Stay tuned.
A small personal rant-
Please try to leave out the demeaning distracting tangential personal attacks.
When we have a disagreement in our family I sometimes have to tell my kids their comments have been duly noted and will now be ignored. I hope that doesn’t make me a czar- just the dad!
Where someone lives in town is not really part of this discussion. Also, Superintendent Landon was a friend, a great guy, a respected superintendent and always tried to do what he thought was fair and right for the kids and the school system.
About today’s column-
Constructive ideas like Terry’s ombudsman are great!
It certainly would have been an improvement.
Sorry Steve, that arena of good manners on blogs left the building about a decade ago. And as our infamous Paul Newman once said: “If you don’t have any enemies, you probably don’t have any character.”